Funny, Crazy Thought

[Worm of Despite]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was Donaldson reading something like page 700 and Book 7 was only halfway done? I was wondering what all he's stuffing in there! Maybe he sold out! During Linden's "melding" with the Ranyhyn a Ramen goes, "Gee, you sure look like you could use some refreshing Capri Sun before doing that!" Then Linden goes, "No, I'm afraid I'd rather quench my thirst by opting for Sunny Delight--it's nutritious, and that kid I adopted loves it too!" Might get so bad that one of the chapters is called “More Ovaltine Please” The parodies--I mean--possibilities are endless.

[Mouseglove]

Page 700-something, from book one, actually.

-Mouseglove

[Worm of Despite]

Well I meant in all--like counting First and Second Chronicles.

[ÐragonForever]

No doubt the publisher will tell him to cut some out, which will later be sold in a thin book named, uh, "Aliantha-freeze", or something.

[I'm Murrin]

When he says 'a little more than halfway done', I wouldn't take it as being too accurate - my guess is that the finished version will be around 900-1000 pages, judging from where he read from - still a big book.
It is very likely that some parts will be cut out from the book - and we may never know what they were, but that happens to every book. I still expect a great read when it's finished.

[duchess of malfi]

Well, I know that Donaldson would never never sell out like that, but it does open up the possibilities for endless fun, doesn't it?

Some suggestions for Haruchai t-shirts
Got Pain?
Dedication -- what happens when no one else is looking
Pain is weakness leaving your body
Believe and Achieve

(these are all real world slogans of wrestling clubs in Michigan -- but I think they fit the Haruchai, too. )

[dukkha]

I could be wrong about this, but the 700 pages are probably manuscript pages, as opposed to printed pages. 1 manuscript page < 1 printed page. So the 700 pages are probably about 450-500 printed pages.

[Revan]

I have read (somewhere within kevinswatch) that he is writing all three books before he lets book one come out. maybe he's saying that he is on page 700 of the whole chronicles. think about it, because the second chronicles is something like 1300 page long.

[mg420]

i hope Tuvor is correct (except i believe SDR said there will be 4 books this time instead of 3). if so, each book would be around 325 pages. this seems a little thin compared to the previous 6 but perhaps SDR thinks 4 books instead of 3 will make it easier to get a publisher(more books = more $$). 1300/3 = 433 which is about the length of the each of the other TC books. of course 4 450-500 page books would also be great but i hate the thought of waiting 5+ more years!

maybe Mouseglove can ask SDR for clarification the next time around. i wouldnt want to distract SDR from writing but i wonder if he would mind answering a question or two a month. perhaps a poll could be used to choose which ones would be asked.

[Romeo]

I suspect that the 700 page are manuscript pages (all from the first book), and that the number will shrink some depending on how it's typeset. But manuscripts are done in a larger font than in the book, with plenty of margin around the page, and double-spaced between lines. So the shrinkage factor from the manuscript to the final printed book will be pretty high.

I got the impression from things that were said before that he would write and publish the first book, then move on to the second book. I'd guess that this is how the second chronicles were written. The first ones were already done by the time he got book 1 published because it took him a pretty long time to get that acceptance letter. I don't think he intentionally finished the entire trilogy before looking for a publisher.

[Ryzel]

We now know from the Gap series that Donaldson is fully capable of writing books of significantly greater length than the volumes of the first and second chronicles. And this is much more acceptable now than it was when the chronicles was first published. Both authors like Stephen King and more genre specifically Robert Jordan has paved the way for significantly longer volumes than we have in the first chronicles.